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Carbon Emission Trading Map Launched

Each year, approximately 1000 sites across the UK emit over 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. They account for around half of the UK’s contribution to global warming.

Sandbag, the campaign to highlight the issues around carbon emissions trading, today launches a new map detailing the location of these sites, how much they emitted in 2008 and also how many permits they have been allocated for free by Government to allow them to carry on emitting.

Sandbag’s analysis shows that overall emissions in the UK in 2008 were 50 million tonnes higher than the number of permits handed out. Interestingly, again the only sector with fewer permits than it needs is the electricity sector. All other sectors have received more allowances than they need – totalling some 15 million tonnes, a subsidy worth about £180 million when sold to other would-be polluters.

Sandbag’s unique proposal is to utilise the power of the internet to open the issue of emissions trading up to public scrutiny, to enable campaigning around the subject and to facilitate the cancellation of permits on behalf of its members.

Sandbag has taken publicly available information about who is allowed to emit what, and made it easy to understand and investigate. Today, we have launched a Google map of UK installations currently in the trading scheme. It illustrates emissions from last year and compares them to how many permits they have received from Government.

Bryony Worthington, Founder of the Sandbag campaign, says: “Our work scrutinising how emissions trading is working on the ground is essential to improving it for the future. Mistakes have been made and we must prevent them from being made again, either here in Europe or in other parts of the world. Clearly we have handed out too many permits. Future caps on emissions need to be much tighter if we are to stand a chance of averting catastrophic climate change.”